Review Blog

Mar 03 2015

Heather has two mummies by Leslea Newman

Ill. by Laura Connell. Walker Books, 2015. ISBN 9781406359404
(Age: 6+) Recommended. Families, Same sex families. First published
in 1989, this book was considered the first lesbian themed picture
book published for children, so it is interesting to see how it
holds up, twenty five years later. The American Library Association
ranked it eleventh in the list of challenged books so it will be
fascinating to see if it is still seen in such a light. Newman wrote
it as a response to friends saying that there were no picture books
which showed their situation that they could read with their kids,
and in producing this book, she laid the groundwork to open people's
eyes that the mum, dad and two kids stereotypical family is simply
not the reality.
Heather loves the number two. She has two arms, two legs, two pets
and two parents Mama Jane and Mama Kate. On her first day at school,
the children talk about their families, and Heather begins to wonder
if she is the only one who does not have a father, as the other
children talk about what their fathers do. Ms Molly asks the class
to draw their families, and when they pin them up, they see that
each family is different. Some of the class live with stepfathers,
some just with a mother, some just with their father, some with
grandparents, some have two adults and one child, some have more
than one child. Each family is different and each family is special
to that child. The book underlines the fact that no two families are
the same, each is different in its own way.
Newman subtly presents a theme that is underrepresented in
children's books and this beautiful production will readily find a
place in school libraries and bookshelves everywhere.
The soft watercolour illustrations perfectly match the tone of the
book, showing children and families in their wondrous variety. Yes
the book certainly holds up and is a welcome addition to the range
of classics being reprinted by Walker books. For a full list of
their reprinted books go here.
Fran Knight